Seeking Pediatric Dermatologist or Advice in Lower Merion

I would give my OBG a call and find out how you should treat this-it is common in some children. My oldest daughter is 12 and we found out when she was 5 that certain material bothered her and from then on we just got her cotton panties which is more breathable and it seemed to work better. I would also call the pedatrician and see if there are medications that she should be taking.

I took my son to Skin Smart Dermatology in Wyndmoor ###-###-####). We saw Brenda Black and she was wonderful! My son was having huge diaper issues and she worked with us to find the right stuff to help him (lotrimin and anything the ped. prescribed didn't work). She gave me a new yeast infection cream to try and when it worked, she gave me the ingredients so that we wouldn't have to keep getting it refilled. All it is is 1 tube each of monistat (the stuff we use), vasiline, and A & D creamy (the white zinc oxide stuff). Everytime my son gets a rash or takes antibiotics, we mix this concoction and put it on him until all the cream is gone, even if the rash is gone. We found that if we stopped giving him the cream before the container was empty, the rash came back.
I hope this helps. T.

You might consider trying to reduce the number of unnecessary chemicals your daughter is exposed to in her hygeine routine. You can do this by buying natural shampoos/body cleansers like castile or 100% vegetable soaps. (I like Dr. Bronner's peppermint, lavender and hemp castile liquid soaps and also Trader Joe's Tea Tree Oil and Burt's Bees bar soaps.) These soaps clean skin and hair just as well as traditional soaps, but don't have all the harsh sulfates. Also, I'd cut out any kind of bubble baths or salts you may let her use and make her shower till it goes away. Then you can try to reindtroduce a more natural type of bath foam or salt. (Whole Foods has some good organic/no sulfate ones. I like to make my own soak from either baking soda or epsom salts and add a couple drops of different essential oils that smell nice. It's way cheaper and it's more healthy for you.)

You should also consider that her rash could be an allergic reaction to something in her diet. There are many potential allergens that regular pediatricians don't seem to have on their radars. I was seeing a holistic MD for some health issues I had recently and she suggested taking this test that samples blood and urine for over 90 possible food and enviromental allergens that can manifest strange symptoms in your body. Most traditional doctors don't look at food allergens as a factor in health issues, but they are apparently the cause for many problems. If you see a holistic doctor for your daughter's rash, make sure they're an MD, otherwise you can't be sure if you're getting knowledgeable advice.

Good luck and I hope that something works out for you and your daughter soon!

Hi A.--

I'm sorry, I don't have a pediatric dermatologist to recommend, although looking for one sounds totally reasonable. What I would try, since it doesn't sound like you have a fungal infection on your hands (if you did, the Lotrimin would work after a week or so), is to look at what products you/she is using to clean her vaginal area. It is a very sensitive skin area; she may have, for example, a fragrance allergy. (Happened to me once as a kid after using some particular bath salts, sorry if that's tmi.) You might check your local natural foods emporium to see if you can find a fragrance and -paraben (a common set of preservatives) free body wash for her (shampoo will work fine as body wash in a pinch). Good luck--this must be just no fun for either of you.